Work-control means for sewing machines



April 17, 1956 W. M. FARLEY ET AL 2,742,004 N WORK-CONTROL MEANS FOR SEWING MACHINES E Sheets-Sheet l Filed July 17, 1953 R01 O l mm. l W mf E. M@ mm MW N Ll..

S j mj 92 BY Mm M iQ/vwl.

ATTORNEYS April 17, 1956 w. M. FARLEY ET AL WORKCONTROL MEANS FOR SEWING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 17, 1953 @ALL ATTORNEYS variationin the stitching,

United States Patent WGRK-CONTRL MEANS FOR SEWING MACHINES Walter M. Farley, Milford, and Arnold R. Kellogg'and Stanley H. Phillips, Stratford, Conn., assignors to '.lhc Warner BrothersCompany, Bridgeport, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application July 17, 1953, Serial No. 368,694

10 Claims. (Cl. 112-2) This invention relates to work-control means `for a sewing machine, and more particularly to one adapted to form spiral and/or circular stitching as may be required to make a novel breast cup for brassieres and the like having one or more layers of fabric.

Heretofo're in making breast cups a plurality of cupshaped elements of fabric in substantially conical form have been nested together and stitched into a self-sustaining structure. Diculty has been encountered however in automatically sewing the cup-shaped elements to provide uniform accurate stitching thereon, in providing and in picking up or restarting the stitching in the event it has stopped because of broken thread or the like.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a work-controlling means which overcomes the diiculties heretofore encountered by accurately and quickly controlling the stitching of the work. This is accomplished by providing a work-holding slide adapted to have the work mounted thereon for rotation and having the slide normally urged to move with respect to the stitching mechanism of the sewing machine and providing means for restraining and controlling movement of the slide by the urging means in accordance with the desired stitching. i

In the preferred form of the invention the control or restraint is obtained by means of a let-off cam having a flexible connector wound thereon and connected to the slide carrying the work to control its movement in accordance with a predetermined pattern of the cam toprovide accurately controlled stitching, for example, spiral stitching on the cup.

Further control may be had according to the present invention wherein means is provided lwhereby the slide can `be held in any position and prevented from moving relative to the stitching mechanism so as to provide cirf cular stitching on the cup.

A feature of the present invention resides in the fact that the control means for producing the spiral stitching continues to operate while the slide is held from movement by the holding means and upon release of the holding means the slide is automatically moved to the position to which it would have been advanced by the spiral means had not lthe holding means been operated, thus providing for accurate control of the spiral stitching. n

Another feature ofthe invention resides in the mounting of the cam on thedrive shaft therefor whereby it can be readily moved to bring the work into a starting position or to restarting position and is provided with means whereby close adjustment can be madefin the final location of the slide to properly position the work with respect to the stitching means. l

Another feature of the invention resides in the agitating means cooperating with the work being stitched to assist in feeding the cup-shaped elements during the stitching operation. f i

Other features and advantages of the invention will be o 1 apparent from the specification and claims when considered in connection with the ,drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a side elevational view of a sewing machine with the device of the present invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of the work-holding means. p

Fig. 4 is a detail of the work-holding means.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken'along `the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the let-oi cam.

Fig. 7 is a detail plan view similar to Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 is a view` of the completed work,

As shown in Figs'. 1r and'2, `the work-control meansof the present invention is applied to a usual sewing machine lll mounted on a bed 11 and having' a stitching mechanism 12 and work-feeding means 13 together with a drive means 14 therefor. The work-control means is herein illustrated as applied to the stitching of cup-shaped, substantially conical breast cups W for brassieres or the like and comprises a slide 15 mounted on ways 16 carried by the bed so as to slide toward and away from the stitching mechanism 12. The slide has guide means'herein illustrated as a guide sleeve 17 secured thereto and slidable on a guide rod 1S mounted in supports 19, 20 on the bed to overlie the slide and maintain straight line sliding movement of the slide, the support 2) being adjustable transversely of the bed to properly align the slide with the stitching mechanism.

Adjacent the forward end of the slide, and in alignnient with the stitching mechanism of the sewing machine is a work-engaging pin 21 adapted to pierce the work and mount the work on the slide for rotation thereon. In the case of conical bra cups, the pin is inserted through the`work at the apex of the cone.

ln order to maintain work on the pin a retainer arm 22 having a hollow retaining head 22a is adapted to t over the end of the pin, as shown in Fig. 4, to hold the i work from inadvertently jumping off the pin during the sewing operation. The arm 22 is pivotally mounted at the end of an arm 23 for horizontal movement while the arm 23 is pivoted to the slide for vertical movement to enable the retainer to be readily moved into and out of operative position. When the device is used for sewing conical work the arm' is provided with a loop 22h to provide a passage 22e for the work.

The slide, according to the present invention, is nor-4 mally urged to move in one direction with respect to the stitching mechanism. In the herein illustrated form of the invention the slide is urged away 4from the stitching mechanism by a weight 24 connected to one end of a cable 2S which extends over a pulley 26 mounted at the end of the base and having the other end connected to a post 27 mounted on the slide.

Movement of the slide by the weight is restrained and controlled by novel means of the present invention so that the desired spiral and/or circular stitching can be provided. y i

This is accomplished according to the present invention by providing a let-oli cam` 28 driven in predetermined timed relation with the stitching mechanism by means of reduction gearing 29 driven from the drive means 14 for the sewing machine by any suitable variable speed drive 29a. The cam has a control surface 23a thereon shaped to produce the desired stitching and a cable or connector 30 is wound on the control surface and connected to the slide to retard the movement of the slide under the action of the urging means in accordance with the unwinding of the cable from the control surface. While in the broader to provide circular and/or spiral stitching, in the preferred form of the invention the cam has been designed to produce only the spiral stitching and auxiliary means is provided for producing the circular stitching, as will be explained, in order to achieve greater flexibility in operation. As herein illustrated, the let-off cam is a at plate 3l having a spiral edge 32 and is connected to control the slide by means of the connector or cable 30 having one end connected to the post 27 of the slide and the other end connected to the cam so that the cable is wound on the edge of the caml to be controlled thereby. it desired, flanges 33 can be provided to form guides to maintain the cable on the control surface.

A feature of the invention is the connection of the cam to the driveshaft 29h of the reduction gearing by means of a one-way drive so that the control device can be readily and quickly reset to the desired starting or restarting position. In the preferred form of the invention the one-way drive is formed by securing a ratchet 34 on drive shaft 29h and mounting a pawl 3S on the cam to engage the ratchet. The weight urging the slide away from the stitching mechanism applies a load to the cable 30 and hence to the cam tending to rotate the cam in a direction (clockwise as shown in Fig. 6) which causes the pawl to engage the teeth of the ratchet. A handle 36 is provided on the cam which enables the operator to overcome the urging means and rotate the cam relative to the drive shaft therefor to draw the slide from its normally retracted position away from the stitching mechanism to a point closely adjacent the stitching mechanism.

If desired, a finer adjustment of the position of the slide with respect to the stitching mechanism can be made by mounting the pawl 35 on a sliding block 37 on the cam and providing a screw 38 operated by a handwheel 39 for adjusting the block and pawl with respect to the cam and thereby adjusting the position of the cam to draw the slide into desired position with respect to the stitching mechanism.

In operation, the apex of the bra cup W is pierced by the pin 21 and retainer 22a is located in position to maintain the work on the pin. The handle 36 is moved to the left in Fig. l, causing the cam to be moved counterclock- Wise about the shaft and the pawl to be moved over the ratchet teeth. As soon as the pressure is removed from the handle the pawl will engage the ratchet teeth and connect the cam to the drive shaft.

If the ratchet teeth are so positioned that the work on the pin is not in proper starting position adjacent the stitching mechanism, the handwheel 39 is rotated adjusting the relative position of the pawl on the cam plate to move the cam plate further in a counterclockwise direction to pull the slide closer to the stitching mechanism and into starting position. The drive for the work-feeding and stitching mechanism for the sewing machine is started. The work-feeding mechanism will cause the work to be rotated on the pin as the stitching operation proceeds and simultaneously the let-off cam will be driven in predetermined timed relation to the stitching mechanism so as to permit the slide to be moved gradually away from the stitching mechanismand provide the required spiral stitching.

In such cases where it is desired to provide circular stitching the present invention has means whereby the slide can be held in any desired position against movement by the .urging means. This holding means may take many forms. In the herein illustrated form of the invention it comprises a brake member 40 mounted on the Lbed and actuated by a toggle link 41 operated by a handle 42. Whenever it is desired to provide circular stitching, the operator merely actuates the toggle and moves the brake into clamping relation with the slide and effectively holds it against retrograde movement by the urging means. As soon as the circular stitching has been completed, the operator releases the brake and frees the slide.

Should the work require a combination of spiral and circular stitching, for example, as in the bra cup W shown in Fig. 8, wherein it is desired to have circular stitching 43 at the center of the cup and spiral stitching 44 thereafter, this can be readily accomplished by the present invention by actuating the brake means when the work is in starting position to hold the slide in said position while the stitching mechanism is operated to provide a circular row oi stitching 43 about the apex of the cone. The let-ofi cam continues to operate during the period when the circular stitching is being formed and the unwinding cable will have slack therein forming, in effect, a lost motion connection between the slide and lef-off cam. As soon as the brake is released the slide will move quickly under the urging means to take up the slack in the cable and the let-olf cam will thereafter continue to control the slide to provide the required spiral stitching 44.

Should the thread break or the stitching be discontinued for some reason, the stitching can, because of the adjustably' mounted cam and the flexibility of the device, be restarted at any point in the stitching cycle and accurately continued throughout the remainder of the stitching cycle.

It will be seen, therefore, that with the foregoing construction great versatility in the combination of stitches can be obtained. Furthermore, by varying the timing of the cam with respect to the sewing cycle the spiral can be readily adapted to bra cups of varying sizes.

ln cases where cup-shaped articles are being stitched, we have found that it facilitates feeding of the Work if the work is agitated. While the agitator may take many forms, it is herein illustrated as a disk 45 driven by a motor 46 mounted on the bed of the machine and the face of the disk is provided with protuberanees 47 which are adapted to engage the outer surface of the cup, as shown in Fig. 7, and tend to agitate or fluff it upwardly during the stitching operation,

If desired, a switch 48 connected in the circuit of the motor 14 may be adjustably mounted on the bed to engage the post 27 when the slide has moved a predetermined extent to stop the machine motor, thus enabling an operator to attend several machines since her attention is needed merely at the starting of the sewing operation.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the claims and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

We claim:

1. A work-controlling means for sewing machines having a bed, work-feeding and stitching means and drive means therefor for controlling movement of the work with respect to the stitching means to provide predetermined stitching thereon comprising a slide mounted on the bed for movement toward and away from the stitching means and having means for mounting the work thereon for predetermined rotation; means urging the slide away from said stitching means; means moving the slide against said urging means to locate the work mounted thereon in a predetermined starting position to be acted upon by the stitching means; and means for controlling movement of the slide away from said stitching means by said urging means including a let-off cam having a predetermined control surface thereon and driven in timed relation with the drive means for the work-feeding and stitching means, and a flexible connector connected to the slide and controlled by the control surface of the let-off cam to be controlled thereby to provide the required stitching.

2. A work-controlling means for sewing machines having a bed, work-feeding and stitching means and drive means therefor for controlling movement of the work to provide spiral stitching thereon comprising a slide mounted on the bed for movement toward and away from the stitching means and having means for mounting the work thereon for rotation by said work-feeding means; means urging the slide to move in a predetermined direction with respect to said stitching means; means moving the slide against said urging means to locate the work mounted thereon in' a predetermined startingpostiont beacted upon by the stitching means; and means for controlling movement of the slide by said urging means including a rotatable let-off cam driven in timed relation with the drive means for the stitching means, said cam havingfa spiral'edge, and a ilexible connector havingone end connected to the slide and the Aotherend connected to the let-off cam with the connector wound' over the spiral edge to be unwound therefrom and thereby control the slide during the spiral stitching. t

3. A work-controlling means for sewing machines having a bed, work-feeding and stitching means and drive means therefor for controlling movement of the 'work' to provide spiral stitching thereon comprising a slide mounted on the bed for movement toward and away from the stitching means and having means for mounting the work thereon for rotation by said work-feeding means; means urging the slide to move in a` predetermined direction with respect to said stitching means; means moving the slide against said urging means tolocate` the work mounted thereon in a predeterminedstarting position to be acted upon by the stitching means; and.` means for controlling movement of the slide by said urging means including a rotatable drive shaft driven in ktimed relation with the drive means forv the stitching means; a` let-off cam having a one-way driving connection to said shaft and having a spiral edge, and a flexible connector having one end connected to the slide and the other end connected to the let-olf cam with the connector wound over the spiral edge to be unwound therefrom and thereby control the slide during the spiral stitching.

4. A work-control means for sewing machines having a bed, work-feeding and stitching means and drive means therefor for controlling movement of the work to provide spiral stitching thereon comprising a slide mounted on the bed for movement toward and away from the stitching means and having means for mounting the work thereon for rotation by said work-feeding means; means urging the slide to move in a predetermined direction with respect to said stitching means; means for controlling movement of the slide by said urging means including a rotatable drive shaft driven in timed relation with the drive means for the stitching means, a let-oit cam having a one-way ratchet connection to said drive shaft and having a spiral edge, and a flexible cable having one end connected to the slide and the other end connected to the let-ott cam with the cable wound over the spiral edge to be unwound therefrom and thereby control the slide during the spiral stitching; and means connected to the cam to move the cam with respect to the drive shaft and cause the cable to move the slide against said urging means to locate the work in a predetermined starting position with respect to said stitching means.

5. A work-control means for sewing machines having a bed, Work-feeding and stitching means and dn've means therefor for controlling movement of the work to provide spiral stitching thereon comprising a slide mounted on the bed for movement toward and away from the stitching means and having means for mounting the work thereon for rotation by said work-feeding means; means urging the slide to move in a predetermined direction with respect to said stitching means; means for controlling movement of the slide by said urging means including a rotatable drive shaft driven in timed relation with the drive means for the stitching means, a ratchet secured to the drive shaft, a cam plate rotatably mounted on said drive shaft and having a pawl slidably mounted thereon engaging said ratchet to provide a one-way drive between the cam and shaft, said cam having a spiral edge, and a flexible cable having one end connected to the slide and the other end connectedto the cam plate with the cable wound over the spiral edge to be unwound therefrom and thereby control the slide during the spiral stitching; means connected to the cam to move the cam in the direction to cause the pawl t slide over the ratchet and the cable tormove the slide against said urging means to locate the work adjacent said stitching means; and adjusting means connected to the pawl and operative to adjust the position of the pawl with respect to the cam to further adjust the cam with respect to the shaft and provide a tine adjustment of the position of the work with respect to the stitching means.

6. A work-controlling means for sewing machines having a bed, Work-feeding and stitching means and drive means therefor for controlling movement of the work to provide circular and spiral stitching thereon comprising a slide mounted on the bed for movement toward and away from the stitching-means and having means for mounting the work thereon for rotation by said workfeeding means; means urging the slide away from said stitching means; means moving the slide against said urgingrne'ans to locate the work mounted thereon in a predetermined starting position to be acted upon bythe stitching means; means for controlling movement of the slide -away from said stitching means by said urging means including a spiral let-olf cam driven in timed relation with the drive means for the work-feeding and stitching means, and a exible connector connected to the slide and engaged by the let-olf am to be controlled thereby to provide the spiral stitching; and manually controlled means holding the slide against movement by the urging means to provide the circular stitching.

7. A work-controlling means for sewing machines having a bed, work-feeding and stitching means and drive means therefor for controlling movement of cup-shaped, substantially conical work to provide circular and spiral stitching thereon comprising a slide mounted on the bed and having means for movement toward and away from the stitching means and having means engaging the apex of the cone for mounting the work for rotation thereon by said work-feeding means; means urging the slide away from said stitching means; means moving the slide against the urging means to locate said apex in a predetermined starting position with respect to the stitching means; means holding the slide against movement by the urging means during the initial stitching to provide circular stitching around said apex; and means for controlling movement of the slide away from said stitching means by said urging means upon release of said slide-holding means including a rotatable let-ot cam driven in timed relation with the drive means for the stitching means, said cam having a spiral edge, and a flexible connector having one end connected to the slidey and the other end connected to the let-off cam with the connector wound over the spiral edge to be unwound therefrom and thereby control the slide during the spiral stitching.

8. A work-controlling means for sewing machines having a bed, work-feeding and stitching means and drive means therefor for controlling movement of cup-shaped, substantially conical work to provide circular and spiral stitching thereon comprising a slide mounted on the bed and having means for movement toward and away from the stitching means and having means engaging the apex of the cone for mounting the Work for rotation thereon; means urging the slide away from said stitching means; means moving the slide against the urging means to locate said apex in a predetermined starting position with respect to the stitching means; means for controlling movement of the slide away from said stitching means by said urging means during a spiral stitching cycle including a rotatable let-off cam driven in timed relation with the drive means for the stitching means, said cam having a spiral edge, and a flexible connector having one end connected to the slide and the other end connected to the let-ofi? cam with the connector wound over the spiral edge to be unwound therefrom; and manually controlled means operable independently of the spiral control means to hold said slide against movement to provide selected circular stitching thereon, said spiral control means being actuated during j 7 the entire stitching operation and said urging means :automatically moving the slide, upon release of the .holding means, to the position in the spiral cycle that it would have acquired had not the slide been stopped.

9. A work-controlling means for sewing machines having a bed, work-feeding and stitching means and drive means therefor for controlling movement of substantially conical work to provide stitching thereon comprising means mounted on the bed for supporting said work for movement relative to the stitching means and for rotation thereon about the axis thereof by said work-feeding means; means for controlling movement of the work with respect to said stitching means from a starting position to provide predetermined stitching thereon; and agitator means carried by the bed adjacent the work feeding means and separate from the work feeding means and in a position spaced therefrom to engage the outside of the conical work to vibrate the same and assist in the feed thereof by the work-feeding means.

l0. ,A work-controlling means for sewing machines having a bed, work-feeding and stitching means and drive means therefor for controlling movement of cup-shaped,

substantially conical work to provide spiral stitching thereon comprising a slide mounted on the bed and having means for movement toward and away from the stitching means and having meansengaging the apex o the cone for mounting the work for rotation thereon by said workfeedingmeans; means urging the slide for movement with respectto said stitching means; means moving the slide against -the urging means to locate said work in a predetermined starting position with respect to the stitching means; means for controlling movement of the slide away from saidstarting position by said urging means to provide spiral stitching;l and agitator means carried by the base and comprising a driven rotatable member having protuocrances thereon to engage the outside of tbe cup shaped work to vibrate the same and assist in the feed thereof by the work-feeding means.

Referenties cited in the are of this patent UNTTED STATES PATENTS '1,082,563 Smith Dec. 30, 1913 1,243,089 Merrow" Oct. 16, 1917 n 1,463,116 English July 24, 1923 2,437,624 Sutker Mar. 9, 1948 2,674,963 `Guide Apr. 13, 1954 2,674,964 Guide Apr. 13, 1954 r I FOREIGN PATENTS 411,849 Germany Apr. 8, 1925 

